Even a Lonely Squirrel Has Its Burrow - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Ryu Beomju staggered slightly as his hands, previously clasped behind his back, fell loose after the slap. However, he quickly straightened himself as if nothing had happened.

Garam, startled by the violence unfolding before his eyes, clutched Sa Muheon’s sleeve tightly. His hand, gripping the fabric, trembled slightly, but Garam seemed unaware of his trembling, his wide eyes fixated on the scene.

Sa Muheon noticed Garam trembling behind him, but he decided against comforting him, knowing it would only draw their attention in this tense situation. He focused on maintaining his composure.

The large man who had slapped Ryu Beomju moments ago tapped the opposite cheek with the back of his hand. It was a humiliating act to witness, but Ryu Beomju, the recipient of the abuse, maintained a blank expression.

However, his eyes burned with a fiery intensity. Garam, noticing those eyes glimmering even in the shadows, quickly averted his gaze. It felt as though Ryu Beomju might revert to his true nature at any moment and sink his teeth into the man’s neck.

But Garam’s fears didn’t come to pass. The man, who had been tapping Ryu Beomju’s cheek, finally spoke.

“Chief Hong.”

“Yes, sir.”

At the man’s call, Ryu Beomju bowed his head even lower.

“Do I have to beat sense into you for you to listen?”

“No, sir.”

“Then why do you keep causing trouble in front of me?”

Ryu Beomju said nothing, lowering his head further at the man’s words.

“If you can’t understand words, you’re not human—you’re just a beast.”

“…I apologize.”

The man’s degrading remarks suggested he was aware of Ryu Beomju’s nature as a shifter. Garam, knowing Ryu Beomju was a tiger shifter, couldn’t help but wonder who this man was to treat someone like that so casually.

The man, staring at the top of Ryu Beomju’s head, sighed openly before finally turning to acknowledge Sa Muheon.

“Well, Director Sa, long time no see. Sorry you had to witness such an unpleasant scene.”

“It’s fine.”

Sa Muheon glanced briefly at Ryu Beomju, who remained bowing with his hands clasped behind his back. His body trembled slightly, as though struggling to endure the humiliation inflicted on him. Seeing this, Sa Muheon decided it was best to step back for now.

“It looks like you were in the middle of a meal. Please, go ahead and finish. I was about to leave anyway.”

“Haha, Director Sa, since you’re already here, why not join us? I see you’ve brought someone along too.”

The man’s gleaming eyes fixed on Garam, who was partially hidden behind Sa Muheon. Noticing the man’s gaze, Sa Muheon felt a surge of disgust and instinctively stepped in front of Garam, completely shielding him from view.

“No need. You know as well as I do, President Yoo, that I don’t enjoy dining with certain people.”

Sa Muheon directed his gaze toward Ryu Beomju as he spoke, and Yoo’s expression momentarily hardened.

“Perhaps another time, if the opportunity arises. Today just doesn’t seem like the right day.”

“Haha, fair enough. It doesn’t seem like a good day indeed.”

Although Yoo maintained a smiling face, his tone carried a sharp edge. He scrutinized Sa Muheon intently, as if searching for a weakness.

But finding a flaw in Sa Muheon, who stood stoically with a blank expression, was no easy task. When Sa Muheon nodded curtly and turned to leave, Yoo clicked his tongue in regret.

With his arm around Garam’s shoulder, ensuring his face remained hidden, Sa Muheon quickly walked back down the corridor they had come from. Garam’s body continued to tremble slightly, prompting Sa Muheon to quicken his pace.

The staff member who had escorted Sa Muheon earlier greeted him at the entrance.

“Director Sa, about earlier…”

The staff member’s cautious tone suggested they were concerned about what they had just witnessed.

“I’ll visit again another time.”

Cutting off the staff member, Sa Muheon swiftly exited the building. He seated Garam in the passenger seat before returning to the driver’s side. Once inside, Sa Muheon gently cupped Garam’s cheek to make him look at him.

However, Garam kept his head lowered, refusing to reveal his face. Sa Muheon patiently tried to reassure him.

“It’s okay. Look at me.”

Garam shook his head, but Sa Muheon, sensing Garam’s fear, persisted. He couldn’t leave Garam in this state.

“Everything’s fine now. They’re people we won’t have to deal with again, alright?”

After much coaxing, Garam finally lifted his head slightly. When their eyes met, Sa Muheon was at a loss for words.

He had already known Garam was crying—he could feel the dampness on his palm and had seen Garam’s trembling shoulders. That much was obvious.

But the expression Garam wore—so sorrowful and terrified—rendered Sa Muheon speechless. He realized no words could comfort Garam at this moment.

Even Sa Muheon’s touch seemed to frighten Garam, who flinched and shut his eyes when Sa Muheon’s hand neared his cheek.

“…Hic.”

Eyes tightly shut, Garam began hiccupping, his small frame trembling. Sa Muheon, his heart heavy, gazed at Garam’s tear-streaked face.

Then, he reached out his hand very carefully and slowly. Garam flinched as the tips of Sa Muheon’s fingers touched his cheek, but instead of pulling back, Sa Muheon extended his hand further and gently cupped Garam’s cheek. By then, Garam’s closed eyelids were trembling at Sa Muheon’s cautious touch.

A tear slid down Garam’s eyelashes. Sa Muheon moved his hand, which had been holding Garam’s cheek, to carefully wipe away the tears streaming down Garam’s face.

At that touch, Garam fully opened his eyes. As their gazes met, with Sa Muheon closer than usual, Garam blinked silently.

Tears that had seemed to stop began falling again, one by one. Garam didn’t cry aloud; he only blinked as he looked at Sa Muheon. Yet, tears continued to fall endlessly down the corners of his eyes.

Sa Muheon, wiping away Garam’s unending tears, murmured repeatedly.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“……”

“You were really scared, weren’t you? I’m sorry.”

The more Sa Muheon apologized, the more tears fell from Garam’s eyes.

However, Sa Muheon didn’t tell him to stop crying. Instead, as if giving Garam permission to cry as much as he wanted, he pulled Garam’s shoulders close, letting Garam rest his head on his own shoulder.

Feeling his shoulder gradually soak with tears, Sa Muheon gently patted Garam’s back with slow, comforting strokes.

After crying silently for a long time, Garam sniffled and spoke.

“…I was scared.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Back then… the people who came to my house were scary too…”

Sa Muheon couldn’t say a word. He had already known about the mess caused at Garam’s house by the people under his command.

Unaware that Sa Muheon’s body had stiffened slightly, Garam continued to speak.

“So, it reminded me of that time…”

“…I’m sorry.”

There was only one thing Sa Muheon could say.

There had been a time when he, too, found violence unsettling. But as he became more involved in this line of work, Sa Muheon had grown desensitized to it. He hadn’t realized how deeply such things could terrify someone as young as Garam.

For the first time, Sa Muheon felt a pang of shame for the path he had chosen. More specifically, he was ashamed of how desensitized he had become to violence and how lightly he regarded it.

Yet Garam, unaware of Sa Muheon’s feelings, clung tightly to his sleeve as if he were the only person who could save him.

Seeing this, Sa Muheon continued patting Garam’s back until he completely stopped crying. His thoughts were heavy and complicated.

It took quite a while for Garam to stop crying. When he finally lifted his head, he kept it lowered, unable to properly look at Sa Muheon, embarrassed that he had cried in his arms.

This time, Sa Muheon didn’t try to make him look up. Instead, he quietly gripped the steering wheel and started the car. The bitter taste in his mouth lingered as he thought about how he had taken Garam out for a meal only to scare him.

After spending so much time comforting the crying Garam, Sa Muheon’s faint hunger had completely disappeared.

Still, he couldn’t let the boy go hungry just because he wasn’t in the mood to eat. But taking someone who had been sobbing just moments ago to a restaurant didn’t seem like the right thing to do either. So Sa Muheon decided to head home.

During the drive, the two didn’t exchange a single word. Sa Muheon, wary of Garam breaking into tears again, remained silent, while Garam kept his lips tightly sealed, lost in thought.

When they arrived home and Sa Muheon parked the car, Garam, who had remained silent until then, finally spoke in a small voice.

“…I’m sorry.”